CINCINNATI — A videotape of a dying man’s blinking eyes, which prosecutors say identified his killer, can be used as evidence in the suspect’s trial, a judge ruled Thursday.
Jurors in the trial of Ricardo Woods will be allowed to see a video interview of David Chandler blinking in response to police questions, ruled Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Beth Myers.
Police interviewed Chandler, 35, while he was hooked up to a ventilator, paralyzed after being shot in the head and neck Oct. 28 as he sat in a car. He died about two weeks later.
Prosecutors had said Chandler identified Woods, 33, through a series of eye blinks. Woods’ attorney, Kory Jackson, argued that the blinks aren’t conclusive.
Myers watched the video and said Chandler identified the shooter as “O,” apparently Woods’ street name. The judge said she found “the identification is reliable, and there is not a substantial likelihood of misidentification.”
Chandler’s identification wasn’t made by routine involuntary eye blinking but by “pronounced, exaggerated (blinking) movement of the eyes,” the judge said.
